Carson City Fair considers demolition derby

Organizers of the Carson City Fair are looking into adding a demolition derby to next year’s event.

A lot of logistics would need to be worked out, including where to hold the derby, how to minimize the effect of noise on the livestock housed at the fair, and obtaining needed insurance.

The fair is held in Fuji Park so the event would also need approval from Carson City to host a derby.

The Carson City Fair Committee held a meeting Wednesday to seek input from the public on this year’s event held July 25-29.

No one from the public showed up, but the organizers discussed this year’s fair and plans going forward.

Organizers estimate 15,300 people attended the 2018 fair, up from the estimated 13,000 attendees at the inaugural fair in 2017.

The fair brought in $20,385.70 and spent $24,347.46, losing $3,961.76, although those numbers could change because not all donations and other items have yet been accounted for.

The organizers are also picking a new chair, vice-chair, secretary, and treasurer.

Lindsay Chichester, extension educator, Carson City, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, who led the effort to get the fair off the ground, is moving on.

In mid-October, she will be transferring to the Douglas County Cooperative Extension office to be extension educator there.

“While this was a hard decision, I am looking forward to being more involved in agriculture,” said Chichester.

She said her replacement in Carson City should be in place by the end of the year.

Chelsy Simerson and Kara Strausser have volunteered to be co-chairs. Simerson’s husband, Dru, is spearheading the effort to launch a derby, which would be sponsored by Simerson Construction.

At a meeting in August, the organizers did their critique of this year’s fair. Some of things they hope to do to improve the event is more marketing to boost attendance at the concerts and opening ceremony; solicit sponsors and volunteers earlier in the process; and possibly switch days of the youth livestock and dog show and find a new route for the tractor parade.

Nevada Rural Counties RSVP Program, Inc., which staged a scaled-down carnival this year, hosted a beer booth, and organized the vendor craft show, said it will not bring the carnival back to next year’s event.